Katha Upanishad Chapter 2: All 48 Verses in Sanskrit with Meaning

पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत्स्वयंभूस्तस्मात्पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन्
कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्षदावृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्वमिच्छन् ॥ २.१.१ ॥

Paranchi khani vyatrinat svayambhus tasmat paran pashyati nantaratman
Kashchid dhirah pratyag atmanam aikshad avrittachakshur amritatvam ichchhan

MeaningThe self-existent one made the openings of the senses turn outward, so a person looks out and not at the inner self. A rare wise person, wishing for immortality, turned the eyes back and saw the Self within.

पराचः कामाननुयन्ति बालास्ते मृत्योर्यन्ति विततस्य पाशम्
अथ धीरा अमृतत्वं विदित्वा ध्रुवमध्रुवेष्विह न प्रार्थयन्ते ॥ २.१.२ ॥

Parachah kaman anuyanti balas te mrityor yanti vitatasya pasham
Atha dhira amritatvam viditva dhruvam adhruveshv iha na prarthayante

MeaningThe childish run after outer pleasures and fall into the wide net of death. The wise know what is immortal, and they do not look for what is lasting among the things of this world that do not last.

येन रूपं रसं गन्धं शब्दान्स्पर्शांश्च मैथुनान्
एतेनैव विजानाति किमत्र परिशिष्यते
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.१.३ ॥

Yena rupam rasam gandham shabdan sparshamsh cha maithunan
Etenaiva vijanati kim atra parishishyate
Etad vai tat

MeaningIt is by this that one knows form, taste, smell, sounds, touch and the pleasures of love. By this alone one knows. What is left over here? This is that.

NoteThe refrain this is that (etad vai tat) appears many times in the second chapter. It means that the Self just described is the same one Nachiketas asked about. It closes a thought and begins the next.

स्वप्नान्तं जागरितान्तं चोभौ येनानुपश्यति
महान्तं विभुमात्मानं मत्वा धीरो न शोचति ॥ २.१.४ ॥

Svapnantam jagaritantam chobhau yenanupashyati
Mahantam vibhum atmanam matva dhiro na shochati

MeaningIt is by this that a person sees both the end of a dream and the end of waking. Knowing the Self as great and all-pervading, the wise one does not grieve.

य इमं मध्वदं वेद आत्मानं जीवमन्तिकात्
ईशानं भूतभव्यस्य न ततो विजुगुप्सते
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.१.५ ॥

Ya imam madhvadam veda atmanam jivam antikat
Ishanam bhutabhavyasya na tato vijugupsate
Etad vai tat

MeaningWhoever knows this eater of the honey of experience, the living self, as close at hand, as lord of what has been and what will be, no longer turns away from it. This is that.

NoteThe honey-eater (madhvada) is read as the self that enjoys the fruit of its actions, which is the living self (jiva), here said to be one with the lord.

यः पूर्वं तपसो जातमद्भ्यः पूर्वमजायत
गुहां प्रविश्य तिष्ठन्तं यो भूतेभिर्व्यपश्यत
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.१.६ ॥

Yah purvam tapaso jatam adbhyah purvam ajayata
Guham pravishya tishthantam yo bhutebhir vyapashyata
Etad vai tat

MeaningThat which was born first, out of austerity, before the waters, and which stands in the cave of the heart looking out through beings. This is that.

NoteShankara reads this as Hiranyagarbha, the first-born being. The wording of the first line is brief and can be read in more than one way.

या प्राणेन संभवति अदितिर्देवतामयी
गुहां प्रविश्य तिष्ठन्तीं या भूतेभिर्व्यजायत
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.१.७ ॥

Ya pranena sambhavati aditir devatamayi
Guham pravishya tishthantim ya bhutebhir vyajayata
Etad vai tat

MeaningShe who arises with the breath of life, Aditi, made of the gods, who enters the cave of the heart and stays there, who was born with the beings. This is that.

NoteAditi is read here as a name of the first-born being or of the power that holds all the gods. The wording is obscure and teachers differ.

अरण्योर्निहितो जातवेदा गर्भ इव सुभृतो गर्भिणीभिः
दिवेदिव ईड्यो जागृवद्भिर्हविष्मद्भिर्मनुष्येभिरग्निः
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.१.८ ॥

Aranyor nihito jataveda garbha iva subhrito garbhinibhih
Divediva idyo jagrivadbhir havishmadbhir manushyebhir agnih
Etad vai tat

MeaningAgni, who knows all, lies hidden in the two fire sticks like a child well carried by women who are expecting. He is to be praised every day by those who stay awake and bring offerings. This is that.

यतश्चोदेति सूर्यः अस्तं यत्र च गच्छति
तं देवाः सर्वे अर्पितास्तदु नात्येति कश्चन
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.१.९ ॥

Yatash chodeti suryah astam yatra cha gachchhati
Tam devah sarve arpitas tad u natyeti kashchana
Etad vai tat

MeaningFrom where the sun rises and into where it sets, in that all the gods are fixed, and no one goes beyond it. This is that.

Other readingThe print writes "sūryaḥ astaṃ" with the words apart. The GRETIL file writes "sūryo astaṃ", and Wikisource writes "sūryo 'staṃ". These are the same word spelled in different ways.

यदेवेह तदमुत्र यदमुत्र तदन्विह
मृत्योः स मृत्युमाप्नोति य इह नानेव पश्यति ॥ २.१.१० ॥

Yad eveha tad amutra yad amutra tad anv iha
Mrityoh sa mrityum apnoti ya iha naneva pashyati

MeaningWhat is here is also there, and what is there is also here. A person who sees only many things here goes from death to death.

मनसैवेदमाप्तव्यं नेह नानास्ति किंचन
मृत्योः स मृत्युं गच्छति य इह नानेव पश्यति ॥ २.१.११ ॥

Manasaivedam aptavyam neha nanasti kinchana
Mrityoh sa mrityum gachchhati ya iha naneva pashyati

MeaningThis is to be reached by the mind alone: there is no many here at all. A person who sees only many things here goes from death to death.

अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषो मध्य आत्मनि तिष्ठति
ईशानं भूतभव्यस्य न ततो विजुगुप्सते
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.१.१२ ॥

Angushthamatrah purusho madhya atmani tishthati
Ishanam bhutabhavyasya na tato vijugupsate
Etad vai tat

MeaningThe person, the size of a thumb, stands in the middle of the self. Having known the lord of what has been and what will be, one no longer turns away from him. This is that.

NoteCommentators explain the thumb size as the measure of the heart's space, the place where the Self is meditated on. It is not meant as a physical measure of the Self.

Other readingThe print reads "īśānaṃ bhūtabhavyasya" (the lord of what was and will be, as the object of the sentence), as Wikisource does. The GRETIL file reads "īśāno bhūtabhavyasya". The print reads the same way in verse 2.1.5.

अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषो ज्योतिरिव अधूमकः
ईशानो भूतभव्यस्य स एवाद्य स उ श्वः
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.१.१३ ॥

Angushthamatrah purusho jyotir iva adhumakah
Ishano bhutabhavyasya sa evadya sa u shvah
Etad vai tat

MeaningThe person, the size of a thumb, is like a flame without smoke. He is lord of what has been and what will be, and he is the same today and tomorrow. This is that.

यथोदकं दुर्गे वृष्टं पर्वतेषु विधावति
एवं धर्मान्पृथक्पश्यंस्तानेवानु विधावति ॥ २.१.१४ ॥

Yathodakam durge vrishtam parvateshu vidhavati
Evam dharman prithak pashyams tan evanu vidhavati

MeaningAs rain that falls on high ground runs down the hills in many streams, so a person who sees things as separate runs after each one separately.

यथोदकं शुद्धे शुद्धमासिक्तं तादृगेव भवति
एवं मुनेर्विजानत आत्मा भवति गौतम ॥ २.१.१५ ॥

Yathodakam shuddhe shuddham asiktam tadrig eva bhavati
Evam muner vijanata atma bhavati gautama

MeaningAs pure water poured into pure water becomes just the same, so the self of the thoughtful one who knows becomes, Nachiketas.

NoteThe chapter ends with this simple image: water poured into water cannot be told apart. The sage's self is said to become one with it, as the water does.

पुरमेकादशद्वारमजस्यावक्रचेतसः
अनुष्ठाय न शोचति विमुक्तश्च विमुच्यते
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.२.१ ॥

Puram ekadashadvaram ajasyavakrachetasah
Anushthaya na shochati vimuktash cha vimuchyate
Etad vai tat

MeaningThere is a city with eleven gates, belonging to the unborn one whose mind is straight. By serving him one does not grieve, and having been freed one is freed in truth. This is that.

हंसः शुचिषद्वसुरन्तरिक्षसद्धोता वेदिषदतिथिर्दुरोणसत्
नृषद्वरसदृतसद्व्योमसदब्जा गोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतं बृहत् ॥ २.२.२ ॥

Hamsah shuchishad vasur antarikshasad dhota vedishad atithir duronasat
Nrishad varasad ritasad vyomasad abja goja ritaja adrija ritam brihat

MeaningThe swan that lives in the clear sky, the bright one in the air, the priest at the altar, the guest in the house. He lives among people, among the gods, in the law and in the sky. Born of water, of the earth, of the law and of the mountains: the true and the great.

NoteThis verse is also found in the Rigveda (4.40.5). The Upanishad uses it to describe the Self, which is present in every part of the world.

ऊर्ध्वं प्राणमुन्नयति अपानं प्रत्यगस्यति
मध्ये वामनमासीनं विश्वे देवा उपासते ॥ २.२.३ ॥

Urdhvam pranam unnayati apanam pratyag asyati
Madhye vamanam asinam vishve deva upasate

MeaningHe draws the in-breath upward and sends the out-breath down. The adorable one who sits in the middle is worshipped by all the gods.

NoteThe word vamana can mean the adorable one or the dwarf. Shankara takes it as the first, the one whom all the gods worship.

अस्य विस्रंसमानस्य शरीरस्थस्य देहिनः
देहाद्विमुच्यमानस्य किमत्र परिशिष्यते
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.२.४ ॥

Asya visramsamanasya sharirasthasya dehinah
Dehad vimuchyamanasya kim atra parishishyate
Etad vai tat

MeaningWhen this embodied one who lives in the body slips away and is released from it, what remains here? This is that.

न प्राणेन नापानेन मर्त्यो जीवति कश्चन
इतरेण तु जीवन्ति यस्मिन्नेतावुपाश्रितौ ॥ २.२.५ ॥

Na pranena napanena martyo jivati kashchana
Itarena tu jivanti yasminn etav upashritau

MeaningNo mortal lives by the in-breath or by the out-breath. People live by something else, on which these two depend.

हन्त त इदं प्रवक्ष्यामि गुह्यं ब्रह्म सनातनम्
यथा च मरणं प्राप्य आत्मा भवति गौतम ॥ २.२.६ ॥

Hanta ta idam pravakshyami guhyam brahma sanatanam
Yatha cha maranam prapya atma bhavati gautama

MeaningNow I will tell you about this hidden, everlasting Brahman, and about what becomes of the self when it meets death, Nachiketas.

योनिमन्ये प्रपद्यन्ते शरीरत्वाय देहिनः
स्थाणुमन्येऽनुसंयन्ति यथाकर्म यथाश्रुतम् ॥ २.२.७ ॥

Yonim anye prapadyante shariratvaya dehinah
Sthanum anye'nusamyanti yathakarma yathashrutam

MeaningSome embodied beings enter a womb to take a body. Others go into stillness, as plants, according to their deeds and according to what they have learned.

NoteVerses 6 and 7 speak of what follows death in terms of rebirth: the next birth follows a person's deeds and learning.

य एष सुप्तेषु जागर्ति कामं कामं पुरुषो निर्मिमाणः
तदेव शुक्रं तद्ब्रह्म तदेवामृतमुच्यते
तस्मिंल्लोकाः श्रिताः सर्वे तदु नात्येति कश्चन
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.२.८ ॥

Ya esha supteshu jagarti kamam kamam purusho nirmimanah
Tad eva shukram tad brahma tad evamritam uchyate
Tasmiml lokah shritah sarve tad u natyeti kashchana
Etad vai tat

MeaningThe person who stays awake among the sleepers, shaping desire after desire: that is the pure one, that is Brahman, that is called immortal. All the worlds rest in it and no one goes beyond it. This is that.

अग्निर्यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बभूव
एकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बहिश्च ॥ २.२.९ ॥

Agnir yathaiko bhuvanam pravishto rupam rupam pratirupo babhuva
Ekas tatha sarvabhutantaratma rupam rupam pratirupo bahish cha

MeaningAs fire, though one, has entered the world and takes the form of each thing it burns, so the one inner Self of all beings takes the form of each and is also outside them.

वायुर्यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बभूव
एकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बहिश्च ॥ २.२.१० ॥

Vayur yathaiko bhuvanam pravishto rupam rupam pratirupo babhuva
Ekas tatha sarvabhutantaratma rupam rupam pratirupo bahish cha

MeaningAs the wind, though one, has entered the world and takes the form of each thing it moves, so the one inner Self of all beings takes the form of each and is also outside them.

सूर्यो यथा सर्वलोकस्य चक्षुर्न लिप्यते चाक्षुषैर्बाह्यदोषैः
एकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा न लिप्यते लोकदुःखेन बाह्यः ॥ २.२.११ ॥

Suryo yatha sarvalokasya chakshur na lipyate chakshushair bahyadoshaih
Ekas tatha sarvabhutantaratma na lipyate lokaduhkhena bahyah

MeaningAs the sun, the eye of the whole world, is not stained by the faults that the eye sees outside, so the one inner Self of all beings is not stained by the sorrow of the world, for it is beyond it.

एको वशी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा एकं रूपं बहुधा यः करोति
तमात्मस्थं येऽनुपश्यन्ति धीरास्तेषां सुखं शाश्वतं नेतरेषाम् ॥ २.२.१२ ॥

Eko vashi sarvabhutantaratma ekam rupam bahudha yah karoti
Tam atmastham ye'nupashyanti dhiras tesham sukham shashvatam netaresham

MeaningThe one who rules, the inner Self of all beings, makes his single form into many. The wise who see him within themselves have lasting happiness, and others do not.

नित्योऽनित्यानां चेतनश्चेतनानामेको बहूनां यो विदधाति कामान्
तमात्मस्थं येऽनुपश्यन्ति धीरास्तेषां शान्तिः शाश्वती नेतरेषाम् ॥ २.२.१३ ॥

Nityo'nityanam chetanash chetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman
Tam atmastham ye'nupashyanti dhiras tesham shantih shashvati netaresham

MeaningHe is the lasting one among those that pass and the knowing one among those that know. He is one among many and gives them what they desire. The wise who see him within themselves have lasting peace, and others do not.

तदेतदिति मन्यन्तेऽनिर्देश्यं परमं सुखम्
कथं नु तद्विजानीयां किमु भाति विभाति वा ॥ २.२.१४ ॥

Tad etad iti manyante'nirdeshyam paramam sukham
Katham nu tad vijaniyam kim u bhati vibhati va

MeaningThey take it to be "this", the unnameable highest joy. How can I know it? Does it shine for itself, or does it show itself in another's light?

न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः
तमेव भान्तमनु भाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति ॥ २.२.१५ ॥

Na tatra suryo bhati na chandratarakam nema vidyuto bhanti kuto'yam agnih
Tam eva bhantam anu bhati sarvam tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati

MeaningThere the sun does not shine, nor the moon and stars. These lightnings do not shine, and far less this fire. All things shine only after it shines, and by its light all this is lit.

NoteThis verse is also found in the Mundaka Upanishad (2.2.10) and in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.14), and in the Bhagavad Gita (15.6) in a similar form.

ऊर्ध्वमूलो अवाक्शाख एषोऽश्वत्थः सनातनः
तदेव शुक्रं तद्ब्रह्म तदेवामृतमुच्यते
तस्मिंल्लोकाः श्रिताः सर्वे तदु नात्येति कश्चन
एतद्वै तत् ॥ २.३.१ ॥

Urdhvamulo avakshakha esho'shvatthah sanatanah
Tad eva shukram tad brahma tad evamritam uchyate
Tasmiml lokah shritah sarve tad u natyeti kashchana
Etad vai tat

MeaningIts root is above and its branches are below, this ancient peepal tree. That is the pure one, that is Brahman, that is called immortal. All the worlds rest in it and no one goes beyond it. This is that.

NoteThe tree with its root above is the image the Bhagavad Gita takes up in chapter 15. It describes the world as growing down from Brahman.

यदिदं किंच जगत्सर्वं प्राण एजति निःसृतम्
महद्भयं वज्रमुद्यतं य एतद्विदुरमृतास्ते भवन्ति ॥ २.३.२ ॥

Yad idam kincha jagat sarvam prana ejati nihsritam
Mahad bhayam vajram udyatam ya etad vidur amritas te bhavanti

MeaningAll that is, this whole world, came out of life and moves in it: a great fear, like a thunderbolt raised to strike. Those who know this become immortal.

भयादस्याग्निस्तपति भयात्तपति सूर्यः
भयादिन्द्रश्च वायुश्च मृत्युर्धावति पञ्चमः ॥ २.३.३ ॥

Bhayad asyagnis tapati bhayat tapati suryah
Bhayad indrash cha vayush cha mrityur dhavati panchamah

MeaningFrom fear of it fire burns, from fear of it the sun shines, and from fear of it Indra, Vayu and Death, the fifth, run on their way.

इह चेदशकद्बोद्धुं प्राक्शरीरस्य विस्रसः
ततः सर्गेषु लोकेषु शरीरत्वाय कल्पते ॥ २.३.४ ॥

Iha ched ashakad boddhum praksharirasya visrasah
Tatah sargeshu lokeshu shariratvaya kalpate

MeaningIf a person is able to know it here, before the body falls away, well and good. If not, that person becomes fit for taking a body again in the worlds of creation.

यथादर्शे तथात्मनि यथा स्वप्ने तथा पितृलोके
यथाप्सु परीव ददृशे तथा गन्धर्वलोके च्छायातपयोरिव ब्रह्मलोके ॥ २.३.५ ॥

Yathadarshe tathatmani yatha svapne tatha pitriloke
Yathapsu pariva dadrishe tatha gandharvaloke chchhayatapayor iva brahmaloke

MeaningAs in a mirror, so in oneself. As in a dream, so in the world of the fathers. As one is seen dimly in water, so in the world of the gandharvas. As in shade and light, so in the world of Brahman.

Other readingThe print writes "loke cchāyātapayor iva", with the doubled c that the sandhi rule gives. The GRETIL file and Wikisource write "loke chāyātapayor iva". The words are the same.

इन्द्रियाणां पृथग्भावमुदयास्तमयौ च यत्
पृथगुत्पद्यमानानां मत्वा धीरो न शोचति ॥ २.३.६ ॥

Indriyanam prithagbhavam udayastamayau cha yat
Prithag utpadyamananam matva dhiro na shochati

MeaningKnowing that the senses are separate in nature, and that they arise and pass away separately, the wise one does not grieve.

इन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनो मनसः सत्त्वमुत्तमम्
सत्त्वादधि महानात्मा महतोऽव्यक्तमुत्तमम् ॥ २.३.७ ॥

Indriyebhyah param mano manasah sattvam uttamam
Sattvad adhi mahanatma mahato'vyaktam uttamam

MeaningHigher than the senses is the mind. Higher than the mind is clear being. Higher than clear being is the great self. Higher than the great self is the unmanifest.

NoteVerses 7 and 8 set out the same ladder as verses 1.3.10 and 1.3.11, with clear being (sattva) in place of the intellect. The two lists are close but not identical.

अव्यक्तात्तु परः पुरुषो व्यापकोऽलिङ्ग एव च
यं ज्ञात्वा मुच्यते जन्तुरमृतत्वं च गच्छति ॥ २.३.८ ॥

Avyaktat tu parah purusho vyapako'linga eva cha
Yam jnatva muchyate jantur amritatvam cha gachchhati

MeaningHigher than the unmanifest is the person, all-pervading and without any mark. Knowing him, a creature is freed and goes to immortality.

न संदृशे तिष्ठति रूपमस्य न चक्षुषा पश्यति कश्चनैनम्
हृदा मनीषा मनसाभिक्लृप्तो य एतद्विदुरमृतास्ते भवन्ति ॥ २.३.९ ॥

Na sandrishe tishthati rupam asya na chakshusha pashyati kashchanainam
Hrida manisha manasabhiklripto ya etad vidur amritas te bhavanti

MeaningHis form does not stand in sight, and no one sees him with the eye. He is grasped by the heart, by the intellect and by the mind. Those who know this become immortal.

यदा पञ्चावतिष्ठन्ते ज्ञानानि मनसा सह
बुद्धिश्च न विचेष्टति तामाहुः परमां गतिम् ॥ २.३.१० ॥

Yada panchavatishthante jnanani manasa saha
Buddhish cha na vicheshtati tam ahuh paramam gatim

MeaningWhen the five senses of knowing rest quietly together with the mind, and the intellect does not stir, they call this the highest state.

Other readingThe print and the GRETIL file read "na viceṣṭati". Wikisource reads "na viceṣṭate". The meaning is the same.

तां योगमिति मन्यन्ते स्थिरामिन्द्रियधारणाम्
अप्रमत्तस्तदा भवति योगो हि प्रभवाप्ययौ ॥ २.३.११ ॥

Tam yogam iti manyante sthiram indriyadharanam
Apramattas tada bhavati yogo hi prabhavapyayau

MeaningThey hold this to be yoga, the steady holding of the senses. Then one becomes unwavering, for yoga can both come and go.

NoteThe last line says that yoga arises and passes away, which teachers read in different ways. A common reading is that it is a warning that yoga needs constant care.

नैव वाचा न मनसा प्राप्तुं शक्यो न चक्षुषा
अस्तीति ब्रुवतोऽन्यत्र कथं तदुपलभ्यते ॥ २.३.१२ ॥

Naiva vacha na manasa praptum shakyo na chakshusha
Astiti bruvato'nyatra katham tad upalabhyate

MeaningIt cannot be reached by speech, by the mind or by the eye. How can anyone find it, except by saying, "It is"?

अस्तीत्येवोपलब्धव्यस्तत्त्वभावेन चोभयोः
अस्तीत्येवोपलब्धस्य तत्त्वभावः प्रसीदति ॥ २.३.१३ ॥

Astity evopalabdhavyas tattvabhavena chobhayoh
Astity evopalabdhasya tattvabhavah prasidati

MeaningIt is to be grasped as "it is", and also in its true nature as it is in both ways. For the one who has grasped it as "it is", its true nature becomes clear.

NoteCommentators read the two ways of grasping it as Brahman seen as the cause of the world and Brahman as it is in itself.

यदा सर्वे प्रमुच्यन्ते कामा येऽस्य हृदि श्रिताः
अथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्यत्र ब्रह्म समश्नुते ॥ २.३.१४ ॥

Yada sarve pramuchyante kama ye'sya hridi shritah
Atha martyo'mrito bhavaty atra brahma samashnute

MeaningWhen all the desires that rest in the heart are let go, a mortal becomes immortal and reaches Brahman here.

NoteVerse 14 is also found, in the same words, in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.4.7).

यदा सर्वे प्रभिद्यन्ते हृदयस्येह ग्रन्थयः
अथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्येतावद्ध्यनुशासनम् ॥ २.३.१५ ॥

Yada sarve prabhidyante hridayasyeha granthayah
Atha martyo'mrito bhavaty etavad dhy anushasanam

MeaningWhen all the knots of the heart are cut here, a mortal becomes immortal. This much is the teaching.

Other readingThe print and the GRETIL file read "yadā sarve prabhidyante" (when all are cut open). Wikisource has "yathā", which looks like a slip.

शतं चैका च हृदयस्य नाड्यस्तासां मूर्धानमभिनिःसृतैका
तयोर्ध्वमायन्नमृतत्वमेति विष्वङ्ङन्या उत्क्रमणे भवन्ति ॥ २.३.१६ ॥

Shatam chaika cha hridayasya nadyas tasam murdhanam abhinihsritaika
Tayordhvam ayann amritatvam eti vishvann anya utkramane bhavanti

MeaningThere are a hundred and one channels of the heart, and one of them leads up to the crown of the head. Going up by it, one reaches immortality. The others lead in every direction when one departs.

NoteThe same verse is found in the Chandogya Upanishad (8.6.6). The number 101 is the traditional count of the channels (nadi) of the heart.

अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषोऽन्तरात्मा सदा जनानां हृदये संनिविष्टः
तं स्वाच्छरीरात्प्रवृहेन्मुञ्जादिवेषीकां धैर्येण
तं विद्याच्छुक्रममृतं तं विद्याच्छुक्रममृतमिति ॥ २.३.१७ ॥

Angushthamatrah purusho'ntaratma sada jananam hridaye sannivishtah
Tam svach chharirat pravrihen munjad iveshikam dhairyena
Tam vidyach chhukram amritam tam vidyach chhukram amritam iti

MeaningThe person the size of a thumb, the inner self, always dwells in the heart of people. Draw him out of the body with patience, as one draws the pith out of a reed. Know him as the pure and the immortal. Know him as the pure and the immortal.

NoteThe reed in the second line is a stalk of grass whose pith can be drawn out whole. The verse says the Self can be separated from the body in the sense of being understood as distinct from it.

मृत्युप्रोक्तां नचिकेतोऽथ लब्ध्वा विद्यामेतां योगविधिं च कृत्स्नम्
ब्रह्मप्राप्तो विरजोऽभूद्विमृत्युरन्योऽप्येवं यो विदध्यात्ममेव ॥ २.३.१८ ॥

Mrityuproktam nachiketo'tha labdhva vidyam etam yogavidhim cha kritsnam
Brahmaprapto virajo'bhud vimrityur anyo'py evam yo vid adhyatmam eva

MeaningNachiketas received this knowledge that Death had told him, and the whole method of yoga. He reached Brahman, free from stain and from death. So will anyone else who knows the Self in this way.

NoteThe Upanishad ends with the story's close and a prayer for peace, given at the foot of the page.